Reverse Mentoring For Professional Growth

We have a lot to learn from each other. “Another year older, another year wiser,” can often be found on the inside of a birthday cards, but in reality we have the most to learn from those who are younger than us – especially in the creative economy.

New tools emerge daily to help companies enhance their brand. Some stick around longer than others but knowing which tool can really help companies target their core market.

What these students did not know is that I really accepted the invitation to learn from them. I am a generation removed from these students and as a professional, I need to constantly learn about new tools and technologies to help advance my client’s interest that came to learn from them how they get their news, what social media channels matter to them, even the shows they binge watch.

What’s the first information you consumer in the morning?They monitor their news just as much as they monitor what is going on in the world and in their community. Most look for the news on their phone – not on a television, not over a radio and not in a physical newspaper, unless they are back at home and their parents subscribe to it.

Some look at Facebook or Twitter for there news feeds, while others use an app called Smart News.

DANIEL'S: Detroit Free Press and Detroit News, The New York Times, MLIVE

What are your go to social media platforms and how do you use them?

Their go to social media channels remain Instagram,Twitter, Pinterest and Snapchat. Those that are on Facebook use it for news or to follow companies they are interested in working for. LinkedIn is also a social media channel that they are interested in for professional/job searching reasons only.

I was impressed with their knowledge of which social media channels to use for personal and professional purposes, even while in college and some where even careful not to follow celebrities or make certain comments available on line. I feel that is my generation, my peers that are more lackadaisical with what we post, how we comment and what we share. That are children are the smarter ones when it comes to social media.

DANIEL'S: Facebook to monitor the news, check up on journalists and catch up with friends; Twitter to follow journalists and monitor the news; LinkedIN to research prospective clients; Snapchat to keep it real with my children.

What are your go to apps?

The students use apps out of convenience and consumption. They have apps for school, most use Gmail since that is what the University uses. They use apps as EatSmart to view menus and order carry out, there was another app that allows you to submit your name to a wait list at restaurants and apps to help edit videos.

What is the last thing you binge-watched?I was surprised by this answer. I guess I should be since my children are tweens, not teens, but the students enjoy watching The Office, Parks and Rec and Arrested Development. They also watch a lot of HGTV and enjoy the DIY culture. For the record, my children binge-watched Glee and Pit Bulls and Paroles.

binge watch·ing: nound; The practice of watching television for a long time span, usually of a single television show Source: Wikipedia